Albertinum Museum (Museum Albertinum)
The Albertinum Museum is located on the left bank of the Elbe River, at the end of the Bruhl’s Terrace (Brühlsche Terrasse). In 1545–1555, a bastion fort in the old Italian style and an arsenal for weapons were built here on the initiative of Maurice, Elector of Saxony (Moritz von Sachsen). After acquiring lands in the northeastern part of Dresden on the left bank of the Elbe River, the construction of a new large arsenal began at the behest of Elector Augustus I of Saxony (August I. von Sachsen) in 1559. The design and management were commissioned to experienced fortification engineer Caspar Vogt von Wierandt. After him, the work was continued by Melchior Trost and Paul Buchner. But soon, the defects in the building were discovered and they were corrected by Italian fortification engineer Count Rochus zu Lynar (Italian: Rocco Conte di Linari; German: Rochus Graf zu Lynar) in 1573.
The building had three-floor high gables in the Renaissance style, two towers with staircases inside, and seven basement rooms. A wooden 13-meters high roof with lots of dormer windows featured an unusual design. The Dresden Arsenal was the most modern building of the type in Europe for the time.
A new bastion (Jungfernbastei) erected in 1589–1592 provided better protection of the building. The arsenal was famous for its collection of the latest military hardware, in particular artillery weapons.
Peter I visited the arsenal in Dresden twice: on June 2/12, 1698 when he spent three hours in the Arsenal taking a closer look at weapons and in 1711 when he stayed in Dresden between September 9/20 and 11/22. During his first visit, the Tsar examined the collection carefully and astonished those present with his extensive knowledge of military science.
In 1742–1747, under the reign of Frederick Augustus II, Elector of Saxony, the building was rebuilt to the design of Johann Georg Maximilian von Fürstenhoff in the Late Baroque style. During the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763), a significant portion of the arsenal collection was requisitioned by winning Prussia. The collection was also affected by the division Saxony at the Congress of Vienna (1814–1815) after the end of the Napoleonic Wars.
When Alberstadt, an entire military camp with army barracks and an arsenal was built in the north of Dresden, the old arsenal has totally lost its significance. The surrounding buildings were demolished, but thanks to the efforts of architect and art historian Cornelius Gurlitt the old arsenal was preserved. In 1884–1887, it was fundamentally reconstructed after the design by architect Carl Adolf Canzler. In 1887, the rectangular building with a large courtyard housed the Central State Archives and the Museum Albertinum named for King Albert of Saxony (Albert von Sachsen; 1802–1893). What remains of the old arsenal is only the basement with the vaulted ceiling, a hall on the first floor, and two rusticated portals on the west façade.
After repairing the significant damages inflicted on the building during the World War II, it has been used solely as a museum since 1953. It has housed the Sculpture Collection, the New Masters Gallery, the Numismatic Cabinet, and the Green Vault treasury. In 2004–2010, the building underwent large-scale reconstruction. Reopened in 2010, the Albertinum houses the New Masters Gallery and a part of the collection of modern sculptures. The museum depository and the restoration workshops that were affected by the floods in 2002 are now situated in the additional structure above the atrium.
